The National Crime Records Bureau’s most recent data, Gujarat had the most number of cases involving narcotics and prohibition laws in 2021. (NCRB).
Gujarat had 2.84 lakh of the 10.93 lakh cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act that were reported in 2021, with 2.15 lakh of those cases coming from Tamil Nadu. Gujarat has 2.42 lakh of these instances in 2020, compared to Tamil Nadu’s 1.68 lakh cases.
Similar to the previous year, the Prohibition Act-related cases accounted for the most number of instances in both Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. In Gujarat, 2.83 lakh of the 2.84 lakh total cases involved offences covered by the Prohibition Act; in Tamil Nadu, it was 2.08 lakh. According to the NCRB data, 6.78 lakh cases were overall reported under the Prohibition Act in 2021.
Compared to the previous year, there has been about 17 per cent increase in cases under Prohibition Act over a year in Gujarat. In 2020, too, the state, at 2.43 lakh, accounted for the highest number of similar cases, followed by Tamil Nadu at 1.74 lakh.
The report says only 461 cases were registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, which prohibits a person the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchasing, transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
In Gujarat, any unlicenced vending or consumption or carrying of liquor is a criminal offence under the Prohibition law. In Tamil Nadu, the sole licence of retail vending of Indian made foreign liquor in shops and bars was given to Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Ltd (TASMAC) following the amendment to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, in 2003. Following the move, Tamil Nadu Liquor Retail Vending (in Shops and Bars) Rules, 2003, came into force in November, 2003.
In light of the Ahmedabad hooch catastrophe, which resulted in 42 fatalities, Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia earlier this month reported that 2,52,071 people were detained in the state under the Prohibition Law between January 2021 and July 2022.